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Han Huachen 韩化臣
Han HuaChen 韩化臣 also known as Han HuiQing was a Seventh-Generation Bajiquan master under Fourth-Generation master Zhang GongChen (Also known as Zhang JingXing). Born 1887, HuaChen was a Hui nationality man from Luotuan village who gained prestige through his martial skills and formidable strength, earning the nickname "Invincible General" and "Iron Palm". His reputation was so great that he was compared to the legendary Li ShuWen in the saying ‘bei li nan han’ ("Li in the north and Han in the south").Bajiquan | 八极拳 - Taiping Institute “2 Heroes of the Central Guoshu Institute, Han Huachen & Ma Yingtu" - Masters of the IMA Early Life Han was born in either 1886 or 1887 to a late Qing dynasty military officer in LuoTuan village 罗疃, North-East Cangzhou. Names Han was born Han HuaChen 韩化臣. His courtesy name was HuiQing 惠卿. He was also known as HuiQing 会清. Family Han's father was a military officer. He had two children, Han JieQuan 韩洁泉 (1909-1994), and Han LongQuan 韩龙泉, who inherited his Bajiquan. Han JieQuan would later pass on his Bajiquan to his daughter Han ZhenGe and sons Han ZhenJiang, Han ZhenDe, and Han ZhenHai as well as numerous other students. Martial Arts Career Luotuan Village 罗疃 HuaChen grew up in Luotuan Village, situated near Cangzhou, studying bajiquan and piguazhang Zhang Gongchen from an early age. His diligence and hard training earned him a position as one of Zhang's indoor disciples, inheriting the style having been adopted into Zhang's family. Training Han developed his skills through practicing ceaselessly, regularly spending two hours practicing individual drills and was known to train his Chuang Bu (charging step) while doing work on his family farms and developing an incredibly supple waist and kua. To train his palms he would practice mud-hitting from ma bu. Recorded Feats Other stories emerged with time such as how, by using his advancing palm, he could displace bricks 2 inches out the other side of the wall; or how , he could strike the square hole in the centre of a cow tethering post and cause it to break at that point. His arm strength was so formidable that, after winding up the pulley to draw water from a well, he would allow the pail to drop back down the shaft and stop the handle instantly mid-spin. He earned his nickname "Iron Palm" by shattering slabs of ice with his left palm using his "hungry tiger pouncing" strike from Pigua. Leaving LouTuan In 1906, having completed his training with Zhang, Han was told to leave Cangzhou and develop his skills and explore his limits by meeting martial artists from other areas. At this point, he travelled to Beijing with Li ShuWen. Despite the saying "Escorts (guards) do not yell in CangZhou" (to announce their arrival), 3 miles out from the village, Han and Li pretended to be escorts in order to lure out opponents to fight. Beijing Following the saying in the martial arts community at the time, "1st (Bei)Jing, 2nd Wei (TianJin), 3rd LuoTuan", the pair travelled to BeiJing via TianJin. Here they met and befriended many notable figures including Zhang ChangZhen "the drunken Zhang San" as well as the XingYi and BaGua masters (and Students of Dong HaiChuan) Zhang ZhaoDong and Li CunYi 李存义 (also known as Li Zhongyuan 李忠元). In Beijing, Li was known to practice Shen Xing (speedwalking) by circumnavigating the 20km city walls each morning using Lu Fu He Xing (crane stepping) and, on one occasion, Han joined him. Though he could not keep up, and finished far behind his senior, this was no mean feat, and as such he earned Li's praise for merely being able to complete it. Shenyang Police Academy In 1912 Han was invited by his shidi, Ma Fengtu to take on the role of martial arts coach at the FengTian Police Academy (Now ShenYang Police Academy), as a second generation Bajiquan instructor in the North East; Li ShuWen and Huo DianGe having been the first, under General Xu LanZhou at the officer training academy in Harbin. Here he became sworn brothers with FanziQuan masters Hao MingJiu 郝鸣九 and Yang JunFeng 杨俊峰Bafanquan | 八翻拳 - Taiping Institute , and Chuōjiǎo master Hu FengShan ("The three masters from guangdong" 关东三老) due to their similar temperments. In 1915, after a meeting with his three sworn brothers, Han resigned his post. Before leaving he sparred with a few other masters, during this event, having felt a palm on his back, he countered and ended up striking the black brick wall behind him smashing it through the wall. The "Three heroes" covered the wall with a calligraphy to cover the hole in the wall.Life of Baji master Han HuaChen - ShanDong TV . TianJin Chinese Martial Arts Association After leaving he was invited to instruct at the TianJin Chinese Martial Arts Association Zaozhuang Following the LinCheng Train Attack In May 1923 in LingCheng Village, ShanDong, Han was invited to work as Head Guard and martial arts instructor of Zhongxing mine in Zaozhuang (in Shandong province), as part of their "Mine Police Unit". It had previously been rather weak, and as such investment was made to procure talented martial artists to lead the 5 units and maintain order during the chaotic period. He brought with him Zha ShuDe and his son Han JieQuan, and transmitted his Bajiquan to the men of ZaoZhuang. It was during this time at the mine that he accepted Li Xueyi, Zhao Ronglin and a number of other students. Nanjing Zhongyang Guoshu Association Soon after, the Nanjing Guoshu Institute was established and Han received a telegram from its headmaster, Zhang Zhijiang inviting him to serve as an instructor. National Leitai After heading south to Nanjing in 1928, Han and his students (Zhao Shude, Li Xueyi and Zhao Ronglin), along with Ma YingTu entered the October 1928 National Leitai competition. Han is reported to have defeated more than 30 of his opponents, each a well known fighter in their own right, using a single blow each time, and hospitalising many of them. It was here that he earned the nickname the "Invincible General", being undefeated alongside his Ma, who himself was able to defeat ten renowned fighters in a row. At this point, fearing their success would cause problems, the organisers Zhang Zhijiang and Li Jinglin forbade the pair from continuing to compete. As such, they were only listed amongst the 37 names of the YouDeng ("Excellent") division. He would later go on to be selected by Li to serve on a comitee of 29 judges at the 1929 HangZhou Leitai tournament alongside many other famous masters including Sun LuTang and Yang ChengFu.1929 Hangzhou Leitai Tournament - Masters of The IMA Fortunately for Han, this impressive performance earned him his appointment as head of teaching, at the Nanjing Zhongyang Guoshu Association, with Ma being made sectional training head. Their combined efforts were instrumental in making Bajiquan a compulsory style at the Institute. During this period, Wang Ziping and Tong Zhongyi took charge of Shuaijiao competitions whilst Han Huiqing and Ma Yingtu ran the empty hand sparring competitions. Wang and Tong, alongside Gao Zhendong, Huang Bonian and Jiang Rongqiao were said to have admired Han and Ma enough that they would be put forward first for any challenge matches. Tong Zhongyi’s son-in-law, Li Yuanzhi, would later study under Han and Ma, lauding their teaching greatly. Han and Ma were seen as "pillars" of the Institute, building their reputation enough to earn the respect of both Li and Zhang. Han's influence at the school, and in proliferating Bajiquan in the south was so great that at the time the was also a saying "in the South Han, in the North Li" referring to the Han and Li ShuWen's superior skills. During the 1930s, Han followed Li ShuWen to the Hebei and ShanDong GuoShu institutes created by Li Jinglin and Xu Lanzhou, bringing his disciples with him. While there, he became the martial arts trainer for Han Fuju's militia, and met Yang ChengFu 杨澄甫; crossing hands and developing a mutual respect for one another. Death Han HuaChen died of heart failure in 1937. Legacy Notable Students Students of Han HuaChen include: * Dong Huiting * Dong Yiqing * Dong Yiwen * Han Longquan * Han Jiquan * Li Xueyi * Liu Hanzhou * Shang Guanting * Shen Zhongshan * Wei Hongen * Yao chunfu * Zhang Zhendong * Zhang Ziting * Zhao Ronglin * Zhao Shude. Lineage Wu Zhong > Wu Ying > Zhang KeMing > Zhang Jingxing > Han HuaChen Han is thought to have learned the Jingang Ba Shi from Li ShuWen. Media Shandong TV has run a 2015 feature about the life of Baji Quan master Han HuanChen. References Category:Master